Sheldon Himelfarb has been at the forefront of technology innovation for peacebuilding since joining the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in 2008 and originating the concept of “peacetech” – dubbed by Fast Company Magazine as “the Movement to Use Technology to End Violent Conflict and Extremism.” In 2014, he became the founding CEO of the PeaceTech Lab, an international non-profit spun out from USIP and described by Wired Magazine as “part think tank, part accelerator and part educational facility.”

Sheldon joined USIP from The Corporate Executive Board, where he was on the Technology Practice Leadership Team, working with chief information officers from governments, universities, and multi-national corporations. Prior to this, he served as foreign policy adviser to a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the head of North American Documentary Development for Yorkshire TV, and the CEO/Executive Producer for Common Ground Productions, the media division of Search for Common Ground. He is an award-winning filmmaker, former commentator for National Public Radio (Sunday Morning Edition) and author of numerous articles on politics, popular culture, and conflict. He has managed peacebuilding programs in numerous conflicts, including Bosnia, Iraq, Angola, Liberia, Macedonia, Afghanistan, and Burundi and received the Capitol Area Peace Maker award from American University. Sheldon holds a doctorate from Oxford University and has held visiting or guest scholar positions at the Brookings Institution, Harvard University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Today, Sheldon’s work at the Lab centers on the creation of the International Panel on the Information Environment, a global scientific effort led by distinguished researchers from around the world to provide neutral assessments on the health of our information ecosystem and the best policy solutions for improving it.